| Questions and Answers: Peace and Quiet |
by Paramhansa Yogananda
Inner Culture, February, 1940
Question: How can I gain peace and quiet?—W.I.
Answer: Permanent peace and quiet are gained only through meditation and contacting God. All religions teach the value of this. It is well known that still waters run deep. All the worthwhile things of life are evolved in the stillness. This is the wisdom of all ages and climes.
Restlessness and noise are two of the most troublesome factors in life, which you must conquer before you can begin to acquire the peace which is necessary to know God. You must choose as quiet a place as possible for your meditation time, and use the same place all the time if possible. Early in the morning before others are up or late at night when all activity has ceased, are the best times.
Keep to yourself as much as possible if you want to gain perfect peace and quiet. This does not mean that you should not see your friends and others, but it is well known that a great deal of valuable time is wasted in idle chatter and unnecessary contacts, which only result in restlessness and nervousness. Avoid wasting time.
Cultivate emotional poise. To overcome restlessness, start out with a firm determination that you will do each piece of work in its turn without unnecessary fret or fuss, without burdening your mind with useless queries. Limit your thoughts to the task at hand. Dismiss the task just finished and allow the next task to take its turn. If you have entrusted someone else with part of your work, dismiss that part from your mind..
Value of Meditation
Hold yourself in readiness to react comfortably, instead of irritably, to the ordinary incidents of life. If you do not follow some such policy, there are dangers ahead. You will not be able to get in tune with reality--with the Cosmic Truth. How can you know Reality, the eternal order of the universe, unless you learn how to calm yourself?
To help get rid of restlessness, you must understand the value of meditation in the sense that the Yogis of India understand it, namely, "concentration to know God." You can be helped very much by definite Self-Realization technique, which includes proper diet, posture, and the acquiring of efficient mental discipline and character habits. By patiently following this technique, a large measure of self-control can be attained, which leads to peace and quiet as well as to a realization of the eternal realities of the universe, which is God's manifestation.
If we meditate on our blessings, on what we have to be thankful for rather than upon the trials, ills, and worries that beset us or disturb us, we shall begin to know God. The best and highest reward in our life of God Consciousness is the realization of unceasing happiness, which we call "Peace" or "Bliss."
God can be found only by knowing the technique of meditation. He will then throb as joy in your mind, as joy in your heart. You will then be more active and more successful.
Repeat the following prayer before each daily meditation: "Heavenly Father, bless my understanding, bless my thoughts, bless my activity, and bless me that I may use divine discrimination which quickly leads to Thee."
